Friday, September 30, 2016

Making tomorrow's problem bigger

Some of Syria’s largest rebel factions are doubling down on their alliance with an al Qaeda-linked group [Fatah al-Sham], despite a U.S. warning to split from the extremists or risk being targeted in airstrikes.

Note the incoherence of the U.S. position: they're telling the other groups to split from Al/Nusra Front/Fatah al-Sham or they will be targeted, but in the midst of Russian indiscriminate bombing of everybody in rebel territory and with Fatah al-Sham as one of the few groups capable of fighting back.

If the White House really wants to weaken Fatah al-Sham, then they should provide some of the self-defence capabilities to the civilian population that the group currently provides.